1. Key Operations and Technological/Weapon Developments
Fighting WWI
Key Operations and Technological/Weapon Developments

2. Battle of the Marne September 7-12, 1914
Result of the German advance into France (Schlieffen Plan) and pursuit of the Allied armies (Battle of the Frontiers)
Germany reached the outskirts of Paris when six French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) launched a counter-attack along the Marne River
Caused Germany to retreat  “race to the sea”
Allied victory against Germany, but set the stage for trench warfare and a stalemate on the Western Front

3. French planes saw Germans heading straight for Paris (not as planned) – they spotted an opening in Germany’s Western flank = counter-offensive!
Germany ordered retreat (failure of Schlieffen Plan)

4. Why did trench warfare lead to a stalemate on the Western Front?

6. “Race to the Sea”
Outflank one’s enemy! Requires them to defend in two directions!
In the fall of 1914, a series of movements and counter movements extended the Western front to the English Channel
Added to the deadlock, stalemate situation!

10. How was aircraft used in World War I?

11. WWI Aircraft Zeppelin (Germany) British Airship

12. Aircraft was vital in supporting naval warfare & ground troops

14. WWI Dogfights

15. What is a war of attrition?
A military strategy in which one side attempts to win a war by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in morale, personnel, supplies, etc.
This is key in TOTAL WAR!

16. What new weapons were developed during WWI
What new weapons were developed during WWI? How did these new weapons lead to a change in tactics on the Western front?

17. New weapon advances in WWI
Tanks
Machine Guns
Mortars (shot a shell in a high arc over a relatively short distance)
Flamethrowers
Barbed Wire
Mustard Gas

19. List the effects of Gas Weaponry.

25. In your opinion, is gas any more or less “humane” than other weapons
In your opinion, is gas any more or less “humane” than other weapons? Explain!

26. Poison Gas attack against a Kurdish village; 1988

28. German Gas Attack on Allied Trenches: 1914-1916

29. Disease No proper system of waste disposal
Soldiers would use tins to deposit waste and throw them over the trench.
Large numbers of decomposing bodies filled up the trenches
This attracted rats who carried diseases, like malaria and influenza.

30. Trench Foot

31. Shellshock Also known as Combat Stress Reaction (CSR)
In WWI, shell shock was considered a psychiatric illness resulting from injury to the nerves during combat
The horrors of trench warfare meant that about 10% of the fighting soldiers were killed and the total proportion of troops who became casualties (killed or wounded) was 56%.

32. What communication difficulties did armies face fighting in the trenches? How did they overcome this?

33. Other communication methods